Dispenser for horizontally stacked cylindrical articles



Dec. 30, 1952 B, A, HAYDU l 2,623,800

DISPENSER FOR HORIZONTALLY STACKED CYLINDRICAL ARTICLES Filed July 3l, 1950 3 Sheets-Sheet l INVENToR. BARTLEY A.HAYou BY Y /mx/ww,

ATTORNEYS A INVENTOR.

BARTLEY A. HAYDU BY my M ATTORNEYS 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 B A HAYDU DISPENSER FOR HORIZONTALLY STACKED CYLINDRICAL ARTICLES De. 3o, 1952 Filed July 3l 1950 Dec. 3o, 1952 B. A. HAYDU 2,623,800

DISPENSER RoR HoRxzoNTALLY sTAcEED CYLINERICAL ARTICLES Filed July 31 195o s sheets-sheet 3 INVENTOR.

BARTLEY A.HAYDU ATTORNEZYg Patented Dec. 30, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE DISPENSER FOR HORIZONTALLY STACKED CYLINDRICAL ARTICLES Bartley A. Haydn, Detroit, Mich.

Application July 31, 1950, Serial No. 176,833

(Cl. 312-l5) 2 Claims. 1

The invention relates to mechandise dispensers, and more particularly to a dispenser for successively delivering from a package individual articles forming the content thereof. It is the object of the invention to obtain a construction in which the package may be inserted and from which the content of the package is moved to .a position for the successive delivery of the individual articles.

The invention further consists in the construction forming the closure for the dispenser after the insertion of the package therein and which. has a portion constituting a resiliently pressed follower for the package content.

The invention further consists in various features of construction as hereinafter set forth.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of my improved dispenser;

Fig. 2 is a central longitudinal section therethrough;

Fig. 3 is an end elevation;

Fig. 4 is an elevation of a modied construction;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the collapsible resilient element forming both the enclosure for the dispenser and the follower for the contenti thereof;

Fig. 6 is a similar View of a modified construction;

Fig. 7 is a plan view of the blank of the modifled construction of Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 is a perspective view of the package being removed from the telescopic cover member prior to being inserted into the casing.

Fig. 9 is a section on the line 9 9, Fig. 3.

While my improved dispenser may be used for dispensing various articles of merchandise, I shall specifically describe only one use, viz., a dispenser for swabs, each of which consists of a stem usually formed of wood and a cotton tip at each end thereof. Such articles are usually merchandised in packages, each package containing a plurality cf layers separated from each otherV by thin strips of paper and each layer having the swabs arranged in a row parallel to each other and extending transversely of the package. The container is usually formed of cardboard having an inner member provided with a bottom, sides and ends, and an outer member telescopicaliy engaging the inner member.

My improved dispenser comprises a casing A preferably formed of molded plastic material and which is of a size to contain a package B of the articles to be dispensed. The casing has parallel sides C, front and rear ends'D and E, and a top F but is open at the bottom to receive the package. The top is formed with a central longitudinally extending slot F therein wide enough for the insertion of thumb and fingers. Also one or more cross slots connecting with the slot F and, as specifically shown, there is a cross slot G adjacent to the rear end and a cross slot iH at the forward end. The bottom portions of the sides and ends extend outward as indicated at C', D', E t0 form in effect a base. This also gives greater thickness to the sides in the base portion, and longitudinally extending grooves I are formed therein on their inner faces for receiving the closer and follower element JL The dispenser includes resilient means for urging the swabs toward the top or front of the casing and the preferred form of this resilient means is best seen by referring to Figure 5. The same element is shown in the assembly of Figure 2. The central portion J2 in this instance is connected to the marginal portion J by two pairs of resilient arms J3 and J8, these arms being interconnected at their ends as indicated at J9. Opposite the interconnection between the arms J9, the arms J8 are interconnected at their ends to the marginal portion J In like manner, the ends of the arms J 3 opposite to the connection J 9 are connected to the central portion J2. This preferred follower construction has the advantage that the central portion J2 moves directly upwardly perpendicular to the plane of the marginal portion J At one end of the central portion J2 is a downwardly projecting flange J7, the purpose of which will later be described.

Shown in Figs. 6 and 7 is a modified element J, formed of resilient sheet material preferably stainless steel, which is blanked to form a marginal portion J', a central portion J2 and a pair of intermediate portions J3. A substantially U- shaped slot J4t separates the central portion J2 from the marginal portion J `at one end of the former, and also separates said central portion from the intermediate portions J3 to near the opposite end thereof. There is, however, an integral connection portion J5 between the central and intermediate portions. Separation between the marginal portion and the intermediate and central portions is formed by a substantially U- shaped slot J6, which is reversed end toend from the slot J4. Thus while `all of these portions are integrally connected to each other, it is possible to deect the central and intermediate portions from the marginal portion. This is accomplished preferably by suitable dies and the portions are deflected beyond the elastic limit of the material so as to assume the form illustrated in Fig. 5, in which the central portion J2 is in a plane parallel to but spaced from the plane of the marginal portion J while the intermediate portions J3 extend obliquely between the mar ginal and central portions to which they are connected at opposite ends. The resiliency of the material is such that, while the structure normally holds the form shown in Fig. 5, it may be collapsed into or nearly into a single plane without exceeding the elastic limit of the resilient material. The free end of the central portion J2 is bent downward to form a flange J2, which serves as a stop to retain element J in place, and as a guide during upward movement of portion J2 in the case. In addition to the above the ange J7 provides a nger engaging piece facilitating removal of the follower J.

From the structure as thus far described it will be understood that the packing B can be inserted within the casing by first removing the cover and then tearing oi one end B' of the pack-age. The package is inserted through the open bottom with the open end forward and yadjacent to the casing end D. When fully inserted the top edges B2 of the package B will contact with the top F of the casing at F and F6 and the bottom B3 will be just above the grooves I in the sides C of the casing. The member J is then collapsed nearly into its original plane but with the central portion J2 slightly raised to be above the bottom B3. The front end D is cut away at the bottom up to the plane of the upper edge oi the grooves I, as indicated at D2, and is further cut away, as indicated at D3, in the central portion to receive the raised central portion J2 of the member J. Thus it will be understood that by inserting the opposite side edges of the mare ginal portion J into the grooves I and by moving the member J inward, the top portion J2 can pass over the bottom B3 of the package so as to be between the same Iand the lowermost layer ofthe swabs. As previously described, the layers of swabs are separated from each other by paper strips B4, there being preferably one of these strips below the bottom layer but above the bottom B3. Consequently, when the member J is fully in place, the central portion J2 will be resiliently pressed upward by the intermediate portions J 3, J 8 so as to raise the content of the package whenever this is permitted, At the start the upper layer of swabs is pressed against the to-p F but this top on opposite sides of the slot F is of increased thickness as indicated at F2 so as to form ribs which contact with the stems of the swabs leaving clearance for the tips beneath the bottom.

The ends oi the ribs F3 are thickened as at F4 to guide the swabs completely to the slots G and H. As best seen in Fig. 9, the upper edges B2 of the package B abut at the back of the casing A against a transverse rib F6, and separate rest pads F5 are provided at the front of the casing to engage the edges B2 of the package adjacent the corners thereof to hold the bottom B3 of the package parallel to the grooves I.

It will be obvious that the tips may be removed either through the slots G or I-I by engaging the fingers with the portion of the stems below the slot E" and moving them either rearward to the slot G or forward to the slot H through either oi which the complete swab may be removed. After the swabs of the top row are exhausted, the resilient pressure of the follower will raise the second row into similar position and the dispensing may continue until the swabs of all of the rows have been exhausted. The member J may then be again collapsed, the slot F' providing access for pressing the central portion J2 downward until in registration with the cut away portion D3, after which the whole member J may be drawn outward by grasping the flange J 7. The container B may then be removed from the casing and another package similarly prepared may be inserted in place thereof.

The casing A is, as above stated, preferably formed of molded plastic material and forms a single integral unit. At the front end D the outer wall adjacent to the cross slot H is preferably cut away to incline downward from the opposite sides to the center, as indicated at DG, and further cut away at the center as at D4. Also at the opposite or rear end, there is a depression G in rear of the slot Gr opposite the slot F. These portions facilitate the removal of the swabs from the slots, and also at the front the cut away portion D6 permits of drawing out the paper partitions that are between successive layers of swabs in the package or container. The casing can be molded with internal vertical eX- tending ribs at the opposite ends thereof which guide the package and lighten the walls of the structure. Ribs D5 on the front wall also serve to guide the swabs of successive layers at the open end of the package during movement upward by the follower. The length of the casing is greaterv than the length of the package so as to receive the ends of the marginal portion which are beyondV the follower portion. Also the greater length of the casing at the front end facilitates the insertion of the member J into the guide slots before the central portion J2 overlaps the package.

If desired, instead of the horizontal arrangement of the casing as thus far described, it may be arranged vertically as shown in Fig. 4 and supported by an enlarged forwardly extending base portion A3.

If desired, the package B may have at one or both ends -a slot B6 as shown in dot-and-dash lines in Fig. B, which extends across the central portion of the front B at its bottom and preferably extends a short distance into the bottom B2 as shown at B7. With this construction it is of course unnecessary to tear ofi or remove the end B' of the package B, as the central portion J2 of the follower element J may be inserted directly into the slot. In order to facilitate removal of the paper strips B."t and the swabs it is preferred to recess one or both ends of the package as indicated by the dot-and-dash lines B2.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. A dispenser comprising a casing having one wall thereof apertured for successive removal therethrough of articles from the interior, said casing having an opening opposite said wall for insertion of a package containing said articles and also having slideways on opposite sides of the entrance to said opening, and a closure for said opening formed of a resilient sheet slitted to have opposite marginal portions, a central portion and a pair of intermediate portions biased to extend said central portion transversely from the plane of said marginal portions but collapsible into said plane, said marginal portions being engaged with said slideways after the insertion of the package into the casing to move the closure into closed position, said marginal portions also underlapping the bottom ofthe package and said intermediate and central portions being above said bottom 'between the same and the contents to independently move the latter, said casing being cut away in an end portion of said apertured wall thereof adjacent to and in communication with the dispensing aperture for the successive withdrawal of separating strips which are between layers of contents of the package as said layers are moved by the follower into contact with said apertured Wall.

2. The construction as in claim 1 in which the aperture in said apertured wall includes a central longitudinal slot and a cross slot at an end of said central slot together with inwardly extending flanges on opposite sides of said central slot which bear against the central portion of the articles in the package and hold the end portions of said articles out of contact with said Wall. 'Y BARTLEY A. HAYDU.

REFERENCES CITED ,The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

